IPL 2017: Chase masters Mumbai Indians take on Delhi Daredevils at home

Mumbai Indians have a 6-1 win record at home against Delhi Daredevils and the Rohit Sharma-led team would be looking to exploit their chasing ability once again to extend their five-match winning streak against Zaheer Khan’s boys.

The rivalry between Delhi and Mumbai has been one of the fiercest in Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic tournament. While Mumbai are no doubt the undisputed leaders with 41 titles, Delhi have often given Mumbai a run for their money with seven titles to their credit.

Mumbai Indians have won their last five matches in the 2017 Indian Premier League and Delhi Daredevils will have a task at hand to stop them at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.(AP)

The Delhi-Mumbai rivalry has also spilled over to the Indian Premier League where Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils are the only teams to have a neck-and-neck contest with a 50 per cent win/loss ratio in 18 matches.

On Saturday, Mumbai Indians will have a chance to go one up over Delhi Daredevils when they clash at the Wankhede Stadium here.

Delhi Daredevils’ top most priority would be to break their Mumbai jinx. Away from home, Delhi Daredevils have rarely managed to find success whenever they have squared up against Mumbai Indians.

In seven IPL matches hosted in Mumbai, Mumbai Indians have emerged triumphant on six occasions.

The only time Delhi Daredevils found everything going for themselves in Mumbai was during the 2012 IPL when a Harbhajan Singh-led Mumbai Indians were bowled out for a paltry 92 in 19.2 overs. Delhi Daredevils won that match by seven wickets.

“In terms of not winning in Mumbai, if you look at last 5-6 games Mumbai have played they have been on a roll, home or away. It’s a tough ask but we have the firepower to do it. It’s just that we need to click,” said Delhi Daredevils’ all-rounder and Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews ahead of the clash.

Mumbai Indians the master chasers

Toss would certainly be a crucial factor since team chasing have won 19 times out of the last 21 matches here. Mumbai Indians have become undisputed master chasers in this edition, having won all their five matches after being set a target.

It was evident in the way Mumbai Indians played their last match in Indore on Thursday where Rohit Sharma & Co made a mockery of the 199-run target set by Kings XI Punjab, winning it with eight wickets and 27 balls to spare.

Mumbai Indians seem to be making the most of their best-ever start to an IPL campaign as they have now won five matches in a row after being beaten in their opening clash against Rising Pune Supergiant.

Delhi Daredevils’ middle order woes

Delhi Daredevils however haven’t been that imposing in their batting. One of their major concerns is batting in the middle overs (7 to 15) where they are averaging 7.33 — the worst by any teams in this IPL so far.

In these overs, Delhi Daredevils have lost 16 wickets, also the most by any side. This is where the momentum is lost and could cost them a few games.